Sébastien Buemi believes it is “just a matter of time” before Max Verstappen enters the 24 Hours of Le Mans, though conditions are “not ideal yet.”

Former Toro Rosso driver Buemi, who still works within the Red Bull stable as a development driver, revealed he has spoken with the reigning World Champion about the World Endurance Championship, but driver weight remains an issue around a potential entry.

Buemi: Max Verstappen entering Le Mans ‘just a matter of time’

Verstappen has long spoken about his ambitions to eventually take part in endurance racing, with this year’s edition of its crown jewel, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, set to take place this weekend at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The Red Bull driver has previously expressed concerns about WEC’s Balance of Performance [BoP] rules potentially being a hindering factor behind making such a switch, and Buemi explained that driver weight, or an imbalance between drivers, remains a “bit of an issue” for the Dutchman.

Buemi, a four-time winner of the race with Toyota, revealed Verstappen hopes to see that problem “amended” before he takes part at Le Mans.

He acknowledged the Formula 1 schedule makes it “very difficult to commit” to the race, but believes Verstappen’s maiden entry into one of motorsport’s Triple Crown events will happen in time.

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“I haven’t see him for quite a long time, but the last time we saw each other we discussed about everything,” Buemi told the RacingNews365 podcast.

“He’s passionate. He asked me a lot about Formula E, we spoke about WEC. Obviously, I remember I used to talk about the weight between the drivers being a factor also for him to compete, which has been adjusted with the average of the three drivers.

“It’s not ideal yet. Obviously, if you are heavy, it’s still a bit of an issue. But that was something he wanted to be clear and amended before he would take part.

“But I’m sure, Formula 1 is extremely heavy. It’s a heavy schedule. It’s very difficult to commit to do Le Mans. But I know it’s just a matter of time until he actually does it.”

Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, and speaking to media including PlanetF1.com last summer, he explained that combining a Le Mans entry with Formula 1 may not be feasible.

Asked if combining endurance racing with his current duties could be doable, he said: “No, not really. I don’t think I want to do that, because you want to focus on one thing fully.

“You start combining stuff and then you can do only one race, so you’re also not really well prepared.”

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